Troops are headed to the Texas border in response to the arrival of thousands of migrants from Central America, CNN reports. The Pentagon announced on Wednesday (February 6) that roughly 250 active duty troops will move from Arizona to the Eagle Pass, Texas, border crossing at the request of the Department of Homeland Security, according to Pentagon spokesperson Captain Bill Speaks. 

Meanwhile, nearly 2,000 migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have arrived in the Mexican border town of Piedras Negras, Guatemalan Consul Tekandi Paniagua in Del Rio, Texas outlines for CNN. The city sits on the Rio Grande, which is situated near Eagle Pass. 

According to Reuters, the migrants seeking entry at the border crossing in Piedras Negras are considering moving to another official port of entry to avoid "a potentially months-long wait for a chance to plead their case for asylum."

Oscar Lopez, a 33-year-old Honduran traveling with his wife and two daughters, told the news outlet, "We can’t stop here. If we don’t [cross] here, we’ll go to another part of the border."

As Colorlines previously reported, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of migrants seeking asylum at the southwest border, resulting in a backlog of cases. According to Reuters, there are more than 800,000 asylum cases waiting to be processed, which means some migrants could find themselves waiting years to have their cases heard.